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John Cooney

Posted: Thu May 03, 2018 10:40 am
by Cracker
My regard for John rises by the day. A great and talented player who has blended into the Ulster Rugby way of life and stands up for us whenever it is necessary. My friends down south say the rugby people there listen to and heed what he says as he comes with no baggage bias.
To hear now that he gives his time to work with the Belfast Central Mission who do wonderful work among the elderly and deprived is just fantastic.
Good on you John. You are giving rugby an much needed image boost.
Hope you all agree.

Re: John Cooney

Posted: Thu May 03, 2018 10:51 am
by Cornerfleg
:thumleft: >appl :salut:

Re: John Cooney

Posted: Thu May 03, 2018 10:53 am
by Dave
Top shagger

Re: John Cooney

Posted: Thu May 03, 2018 12:06 pm
by Russ
Love John

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Re: John Cooney

Posted: Thu May 03, 2018 2:48 pm
by Dublin4

Rugby Statistics: Cooney’s figures still stand up to scrutiny

Ulster scrumhalf proved a revelation in the Pro14 and tops four different categories

Gavin Cummiskey

John Cooney is the statistical winner in the inaugural regular Pro14 season.

The decision by David Nucifora to deny Ruan Pienaar a final contract caused a rare show of total unity in Ulster Rugby last year. Every tier of the Belfast structure complained about the IRFU decision to force another Dublin-born scrumhalf, via Connacht, on them in place of their Springbok hero.

It will never be known how great a loss Pienaar has been but Cooney was a revelation throughout Ulster’s annus horribilis.

The 28-year-old walks away with four statistical accolades as the league’s top points scorer (160), most try assists (10), most penalties (30) and, of lesser importance, the most passes (1410).

He came second in the “clean breaks” category with 24, two shy of the Ospreys Canadian winger Jeff Hassler, and also showed his versatility when shifting on occasion to outhalf.

Cooney’s international credentials can only be boosted by the proposed rerouting of Joey Carbery, another player produced by the Leinster schools system who is struggling for game time in his home province.

Capped by Joe Schmidt against Japan last June, Cooney was subsequently overlooked for the November internationals and Six Nations but next season he should put renewed pressure on Kieran Marmion and Luke McGrath to be the recognised Conor Murray understudy.

The numbers rarely lie. Just look at Tadhg Beirne. The breakdown brilliance of this Munster-bound Scarlets flanker-gum-lock shines brightest with 37 turnovers. Nick Williams, the Cardiff Blues veteran, trails in a distant second with 22 steals.

Despite Barry Daly’s injury-disrupted season, the Leinster winger is top of the try-scoring table, on 12, two clear of Cheetahs winger Makazole Mapimpi.

Tom Farrell’s return to Ireland, after a few seasons in England, has been a less heralded success with the Connacht centre the joint-leading ball carrier (228) alongside Ulster’s departing All Black Charles Piutau. Farrell must be in and around Ireland midfield conversations after 44 successful offloads. That’s 14 more than Piutau.

But the real focus this season was on the new arrivals. Last summer when two South African sides, the Cheetahs and Southern Kings, were dropped into the Pro 14 after a rapidly agreed expansion, only made possible by the injection of TV money, those further down the food chain were naturally suspicious.

Risky rebrand

The major concern was these struggling franchises, cut loose by Super Rugby, would worsen the standard of the old Celtic League just as both Italian teams were finally showing signs of improvement. The powers-that-be assured the media the opposite would eventually occur.

“We will continue to look at expansion but expansion has to work in different areas,” said Pro 14 chief executive officer Martin Anayi, “The teams need to be competitive and it needs to work commercially. If any of those things aren’t present you shouldn’t expand.”

A statistical analysis of the regular season shows this risky rebrand has proved a success and a failure in equal measure. The Southern Kings are bottom of the pile in more statistical categories than any other team but the Cheetahs have upheld their end of the bargain with an entertaining attacking style that puts them up against the Scarlets in this weekend’s play-offs.

So everyone was right.

The Kings did lead one individual category: Bobby de Wee made more tackles (262) than anyone else.

That aside, they struggled to register just one victory in 21 outings while averaging two tries per game with a lowly average of 14 minutes in possession.

The Cheetahs enhance the argument for further South African expansion into European rugby. They were so good they even managed to lure 25-year-old Springbok outhalf Johan Goosen out of retirement. They don’t top any of the statistical charts but place second behind Glasgow with the most average points (29), averaging 3.6 tries per game and only the Cardiff Blues returned superior goal-kicking percentages.

Interestingly, Munster propped up the place-kicking list with a terrible 67.57 percent success rate.

Statistically, Glasgow are the best team across both conferences with the highest points, metres gained and clean breaks. Leinster were the only side to average four tries per game but their numbers take a hit due to the use of 55 players as they also backboned Ireland’s Grand Slam.

Re: John Cooney

Posted: Thu May 03, 2018 2:53 pm
by Russ
Dublin4 wrote:

Rugby Statistics: Cooney’s figures still stand up to scrutiny

Ulster scrumhalf proved a revelation in the Pro14 and tops four different categories

Gavin Cummiskey

John Cooney is the statistical winner in the inaugural regular Pro14 season.

The decision by David Nucifora to deny Ruan Pienaar a final contract caused a rare show of total unity in Ulster Rugby last year. Every tier of the Belfast structure complained about the IRFU decision to force another Dublin-born scrumhalf, via Connacht, on them in place of their Springbok hero.

It will never be known how great a loss Pienaar has been but Cooney was a revelation throughout Ulster’s annus horribilis.

The 28-year-old walks away with four statistical accolades as the league’s top points scorer (160), most try assists (10), most penalties (30) and, of lesser importance, the most passes (1410).

He came second in the “clean breaks” category with 24, two shy of the Ospreys Canadian winger Jeff Hassler, and also showed his versatility when shifting on occasion to outhalf.

Cooney’s international credentials can only be boosted by the proposed rerouting of Joey Carbery, another player produced by the Leinster schools system who is struggling for game time in his home province.

Capped by Joe Schmidt against Japan last June, Cooney was subsequently overlooked for the November internationals and Six Nations but next season he should put renewed pressure on Kieran Marmion and Luke McGrath to be the recognised Conor Murray understudy.

The numbers rarely lie. Just look at Tadhg Beirne. The breakdown brilliance of this Munster-bound Scarlets flanker-gum-lock shines brightest with 37 turnovers. Nick Williams, the Cardiff Blues veteran, trails in a distant second with 22 steals.

Despite Barry Daly’s injury-disrupted season, the Leinster winger is top of the try-scoring table, on 12, two clear of Cheetahs winger Makazole Mapimpi.

Tom Farrell’s return to Ireland, after a few seasons in England, has been a less heralded success with the Connacht centre the joint-leading ball carrier (228) alongside Ulster’s departing All Black Charles Piutau. Farrell must be in and around Ireland midfield conversations after 44 successful offloads. That’s 14 more than Piutau.

But the real focus this season was on the new arrivals. Last summer when two South African sides, the Cheetahs and Southern Kings, were dropped into the Pro 14 after a rapidly agreed expansion, only made possible by the injection of TV money, those further down the food chain were naturally suspicious.

Risky rebrand

The major concern was these struggling franchises, cut loose by Super Rugby, would worsen the standard of the old Celtic League just as both Italian teams were finally showing signs of improvement. The powers-that-be assured the media the opposite would eventually occur.

“We will continue to look at expansion but expansion has to work in different areas,” said Pro 14 chief executive officer Martin Anayi, “The teams need to be competitive and it needs to work commercially. If any of those things aren’t present you shouldn’t expand.”

A statistical analysis of the regular season shows this risky rebrand has proved a success and a failure in equal measure. The Southern Kings are bottom of the pile in more statistical categories than any other team but the Cheetahs have upheld their end of the bargain with an entertaining attacking style that puts them up against the Scarlets in this weekend’s play-offs.

So everyone was right.

The Kings did lead one individual category: Bobby de Wee made more tackles (262) than anyone else.

That aside, they struggled to register just one victory in 21 outings while averaging two tries per game with a lowly average of 14 minutes in possession.

The Cheetahs enhance the argument for further South African expansion into European rugby. They were so good they even managed to lure 25-year-old Springbok outhalf Johan Goosen out of retirement. They don’t top any of the statistical charts but place second behind Glasgow with the most average points (29), averaging 3.6 tries per game and only the Cardiff Blues returned superior goal-kicking percentages.

Interestingly, Munster propped up the place-kicking list with a terrible 67.57 percent success rate.

Statistically, Glasgow are the best team across both conferences with the highest points, metres gained and clean breaks. Leinster were the only side to average four tries per game but their numbers take a hit due to the use of 55 players as they also backboned Ireland’s Grand Slam.
FOD4

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Re: John Cooney

Posted: Thu May 03, 2018 2:59 pm
by 222toHounslow
+1

Re: John Cooney

Posted: Thu May 03, 2018 3:05 pm
by Dave
Wanchor

Re: John Cooney

Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2018 2:42 pm
by Dave
Four year deal for John Cooney.

Re: John Cooney

Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2018 2:47 pm
by damianmcr
Great news.

Re: John Cooney

Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2018 2:49 pm
by Dave
Ulster Rugby is delighted to announce that Ireland scrumhalf John Cooney has signed a three-year contract extension that will keep him at Kingspan Stadium until the summer of 2022.

Cooney joined the Province last summer from Connacht and enjoyed an outstanding debut season, which culminated in three awards at the Heineken Ulster Rugby Awards Dinner in May.

He won the Bank of Ireland Player of the Year, Supporters Club Player of the Year and Rugby Writers' Player of the Year awards after a remarkable season that saw him score 226 points in 25 appearances. He was also selected in the 2017/18 Guinness PRO14 Dream Team.

The 28-year-old has continued that fine form into the new season and was the match-winner in last week's opening fixture against Scarlets, kicking all of his side's points in a 15-13 win. 

Cooney won his first international cap against Japan in June 2017 and added a second on this year's summer tour to Australia. He started his career at his home province, Leinster, before moving to Galway to link up with Connacht.

Commenting on his decision to remain with Ulster, Cooney said:

“I've had an unbelievable time since I moved up here and I'm delighted to commit my long-term future to the club. The players, staff and supporters have all welcomed me with open arms and shown me incredible support.

“The character that everyone within the organisation displayed last year, in challenging circumstances, was really impressive and I'm immensely proud to represent Ulster Rugby.

“Bryn and Dan are creating a very ambitious young squad and I'm excited about what we can achieve as a group over the next few years, through a combination of hard work and talent.”

Ulster's Operations Director, Bryn Cunningham, added:

“John has become a key player for us and it was crucial to get him signed up on a longer-term deal. The number of Man of the Match awards he won last season and the chants of ‘Coo-ney' around the stadium says it all about how much he has contributed!

“His energy and competitiveness, allied to his desire to continually improve, is helping us to drive standards day in, day out, and that is hugely important in terms of us striving for future success. We believe that John, like so many of our players, has his best years ahead of him.

“With the age profile of our squad being really exciting for future years, it will be up to players like John to provide us with leadership and experience in the coming seasons.”

Re: John Cooney

Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2018 2:54 pm
by nonplussed
A top man and top player.

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Re: John Cooney

Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2018 3:02 pm
by thecrouch
Great to hear this.

Re: John Cooney

Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2018 4:14 pm
by ladyboy696969
The Tequila's are on me!

Re: John Cooney

Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2018 5:10 pm
by BaggyTrousers
Cracker old bean, I missed this thread as I was running around like a lilty running thither & yon in preparation for my emigration the next day. Your opening post added to the news of his 3-year contract extension warms the cockles of my heart. Not just a fine player but a good sort forebye.

When he signed I thought, well that's as good as we'll get but he's no Ruan Pienaar. He's not Ruan but he has turned out to be incredibly valuable, turned out to be a great "hobby kicker" and top scorer in the league, has excellent defensive abilities, even if Patchell skinned him on Saturday, has a fast break and a decent pass. What's not to like?

That said doubtless somebody thinks Bryn is a buffoon for signing him. :roll: